On The Night Of June 21
by Catherine Antrim
Summary: this story is TRUE I TELL YOU TRUE. about the night me and my friend went to get the 5th harry potter book but the book was a portkey...


1It began on the night of June 20th, 2003. For me and Anna it was the biggest night since... well... the seventh of June 2000. We were all decked out, I in the same pointy hat and the black t-shirt and skirt I had worn every Halloween since I outgrew my old witch dress and Anna, cloaked and hatted beside me looking more like a witch then I could hope to look with her long, cascading waves of scarlet hair, vampiricaly pale complexion and big emerald eyes.

We were both quivering with anticipation but as it turned out the book store was a bit of a rip of. Kids in round glasses ran up and down the isles waving sticks and shouting nonsense words while their long-suffering parents stood in a line that stretched from here to hogwarts itself.

Finally Anna and I had enough and left, deciding to take a walk and come back when the line had shortened a bit. Outside the cool night air was a refreshing change from the bookstores smell. (the one you get when too many children are together, of cheezits and play-doe.)

We saw large groups of college students from the nearby college gathered around bars, singing and throwing things. Anna and I headed down to the other end of town near the railroad tracks, where the punks and goths hung out. It was almost completely empty except for several teen boys dressed all in black, smoking something foul smelling.

Anxious to get away from the smell we left the main road and went down an ally. We came out onto a street we'd never seen before which is odd because living in such a small town we usually assume we know everything about it, especially if you are me or Anna.

I bet we're the only ones who know how to get onto the roof above Iris Photo or who have been in the kitchens over every restaurant in town to steal food (never again will I eat sushi, after seeing those floors.) For a whole street to have escaped our notice seemed quite impossible. But it had.

The buildings were old and brick, in the same Fashion as the ones on Main Street up by Smith college. All the stores were closed and the windows of most of them displayed a lot of antiques and old fashioned dresses. The street seemed deserted but down at the other end a light was on and we headed toward it. A peeling sign over the door read "Angels Books, new and old"

"Perfect, we can get it here!" exclaimed Anna. "Lets go in!" she tugged on my arm and I followed, glad it had been her idea so I can blame anything that goes wrong on her.

We were greeted at the door by a woman in a green velvet dress who had long black hair with a single white streak in it. She smiled warmly.

"I'm Mrs. McClaggen, you are most welcome on this special evening. My daughter is around somewhere, she could show you around... where is that dratted girl...anyway... Who are you?"

"I'm Hermione" I said assuming she meant who were we dressed as.

"Oh and I'm..er.. Lily Potter" said Anna catching on after she figured out why I'd said my name was Hermione. She woman raised her eyebrows at us but didn't say anything.

The book store was filled with people in long witch costumes and pointed hats and it was obvious these were hardcore fans. What luck it was we had found such a perfect place! Wandering among the dusty shelves, which seemed endless despite the small appearance of the store on the outside it was, I caught interesting titles of all sorts of fantasy books. This book store must specialize in fantasy.

In the back we found a small girl with shoulder length dark hair that fell messily around her dirty face. She was wearing a ragged black dress that was very old fashioned looking and had her face buried in her knees.

"Are you ok?" Anna asked, kneeling beside her. She lifted her tear stained face a looked at us with the brightest eyes I've ever seen that were a startling shade of purple. She quivered but didn't speak. She opened her mouth but no words came out. We help her up which wasn't hard because she was terribly light but she didn't seem to be able to walk. We each took one of her arms and half carried her to the front. As we got nearer to the front the purple eyed girl began to struggle fiercely.

"I think who ever did this too her is still here" I said. Mrs McClaggen had begun handing out books. It was clear the girl needed help but she seemed in no immediate danger so I figured there was no harm in leaving her for a moment to get my precious book. Somewhere a clock chimed the hour. It was midnight.

As my hands touched the book I felt a pull somewhere behind my navel and with a blur of colors I was thrust forward and on to the ground. It took me a few minutes to register what had just happened. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the word "portkey"

I looked around. I was in the woods somewhere and it was kind of scary. I wished Anna was here. She was so brave and could think much clearer then I could in difficult situations. I just stood there for a while.

I remember what I learned during my short career as a girl scout, before they kicked me out; hug a tree, stay where you are, someone will be looking for you. I laughed hollowly. Yeah right, someone looking for me here. Where ever here was.

"Its really not funny," said I voice behind me, it was the girl from the book store, and she wasn't crying anymore. Her face was set and hard and she was raising a long, thin, wooden stick, which I realized a second later was a wand. Beside her Anna was trembling feebly.

"Sara," she looked more scared then me, so much for clear headed and brave. "Its all real. Harry Potter and all."

"That's why you're in such great danger, we need to get out of here!" the girl was staring at me, her indigo eyes were glowing eerily, seeming to bore into my soul.

"If the books are real, that would mean..." It couldn't be true, even as I said it the words seemed unreal. "Voldemort..."

"Yes, follow me, we've gotta get up to the castle." she turned her back on us and began walking pointedly through the underbrush.

"Erm...Excuse me," Anna looked terrified at the sound of her own voice. "Er... where are we... and uh... who are you?" The girl spun around and started at us for a moment.

"We are in the forbidden forest." she answered, ignoring the second question.

"Ok, right, forbidden forest." Anna nodded and then voiced what I was thinking. "Why and dear god... how?"

The girl didn't answer, she merely continued walking briskly along in a pointed direction. I was beginning to think we were lost until we came to a path. We didn't have to walk far up the path before the castle came into sight.

My breath caught in my chest, somehow this made it real, seeing the castle, far realer than woods and a creepy eyed girl. I heard Anna moan softly and that's when the cold fingers closed on my wrist.


End file.
